Because of the marine influence, temperatures remain mild year-round. The climate of the Azores is very mild for such a northerly location, being influenced by its distance from the continents and by the passing Gulf Stream. If measured from their base at the bottom of the ocean to their peaks, which thrust high above the surface of the Atlantic, the Azores are among the tallest mountains on the planet. Mount Pico, on the island of Pico, is the highest point in Portugal, at 2,351 m (7,713 ft). All of the islands have volcanic origins, although some, such as Santa Maria, have had no recorded activity in the time since the islands were settled several centuries ago. They extend for more than 600 km (370 mi) and lie in a northwest–southeast direction.
These are Flores and Corvo, to the west Graciosa, Terceira, São Jorge, Pico, and Faial in the centre and São Miguel, Santa Maria, and the Formigas islets to the east. There are nine major Azorean islands and an islet cluster, in three main groups. The culture, dialect, cuisine, and traditions of the Azorean islands vary considerably, because these remote islands were settled sporadically over a span of two centuries. The largest city of the Azores is Ponta Delgada. The government of the Azores employs a large percentage of the population directly or indirectly in the service and tertiary sectors. Its main industries are agriculture, dairy farming, livestock, fishing, and tourism, which has become a major service activity in the region. It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atlantic Ocean, about 1,400 km (870 mi) west of Lisbon, about 1,500 km (930 mi) northwest of Morocco, and about 1,930 km (1,200 mi) southeast of Newfoundland, Canada. The Azores ( / ə ˈ z ɔːr z/ ə- ZORZ, US also / ˈ eɪ z ɔːr z/, AY-zorz Portuguese: Açores, Portuguese pronunciation: ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores ( Região Autónoma dos Açores), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira).
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